The Elite of the Elite - The NHL Top 6!

Here is a prediction: The biggest movie of Xmas 2012 is going to be titled: Seal Team 6. Hollywood Studios kicked into over-drive the second the Osama news flashed across the wire. HUGE news. HUGE Movie. It’s so easy right?

Now I could get all movie-geeky on you and tell you whom I think would be my all-star Seal Team 6 cast, but I won’t. Instead I’m going to select my ultimate NHL Seal Team 6 (yes there were 30+ members of Seal Team 6, but come on, isn’t this a fun ride to be on?)

The goal here is to select the SIX players you would want to build your ultimate franchise around. 3 Fwds (position dependant), 2 D and 1 G. Remember AGE is key here. Yes, Tim Thomas is (cough) awesome, but he’s well-aged. Get it? Good…

Listen, you can argue Steve Stamkos VERY easily here, but there is NO better 2-way center than Kesler, and he was the NUMBER ONE overall player in the league this year according to Star Selector stats (which give a great look at overall player value). Plus, with my 2 sniping wingers, I can go 2-way value here.

Ok. This pick was pretty easy too. Before looking at their ages, and because of his playoff performance, I actually tried to talk myself into Ryan Clowe. I honestly thought he was a kid. NOPE. He’s actually 4 yrs OLDER than Ovy. OK 2 easy winger picks…NOW to the tougher picks

My 1st gut was Drew Doughty. He didn’t have a great year but, man, was he huge in the last Olympics. And how the heck did he turn in a +13 season while Jack Johnson was -21? Then, Keith Yandle, with the most boring name in Hockey. It just sounds old. He had a great year, but I just don’t think he has the potential to be the BEST guy in the game. Shea Weber does. He has a complete game, a rocket of a shot and a great name.

Here it comes…Call me a homer all you want, but this kid is 21 (21!) and in 3 years we will be talking about him as one of the top 3 D-men in the game. His playoff performance kicked him to a new level in my mind. It’s a tough call…but think future and PK has to be in the discussion now.

It HAS to be right? He’s 23. TWENTY THREE. M.A. Fluery (26), Cam Ward (27), Pekka Riine (28), should all be in the discussion, but I don’t think you can make a different call here. He showed glimpses this year of a true workhorse backstop. He has the body, technique, and puck awareness of an all-timer. The ‘head’ will come.

PLUS: Don’t all of you (even the non-Habs fans) wanna see the Carey-P.K. post-game low-five ritual for the next decade and a half? Ha!